I was 100% happy with Alec Guinness as Obi Wan, but it's fun to think about Toshiro Mifune in the role. I think he would have been quite different but just as good. For one thing, with his physical presence and samurai movie background, it would be easier to see him as a butt-kicker in his younger days. Guinness had wisdom in spades, but Mifune would have added power. This would extend to the PT as well. I know many people like Ewan McGregor as Kenobi in the PT, but I never particularly did, especially in the fight scenes - not enough athleticism or physicality IMO. But I also don't know who could have played convincingly as a young Mifune.

Nothing. Just the voices, sounds, and music of the OT raises my dopamine levels via nostalgia.

Watched the movies before Ep 1 came out, and collected the new films - always watched them when going on child-hood vacations I can't go on anymore.

I've associated that series with the best years of my life.

__________________"Compounding these trickster aspects, the Joker ethos is verbally explicated as such by his psychiatrist, who describes his madness as "super-sanity." Where "sanity" previously suggested acquiescence with cultural codes, the addition of "super" implies that this common "sanity" has been replaced by a superior form, in which perception and processing are completely ungoverned and unconstrained"

Originally posted by Ace Hambone I was 100% happy with Alec Guinness as Obi Wan, but it's fun to think about Toshiro Mifune in the role. I think he would have been quite different but just as good. For one thing, with his physical presence and samurai movie background, it would be easier to see him as a butt-kicker in his younger days. Guinness had wisdom in spades, but Mifune would have added power. This would extend to the PT as well. I know many people like Ewan McGregor as Kenobi in the PT, but I never particularly did, especially in the fight scenes - not enough athleticism or physicality IMO. But I also don't know who could have played convincingly as a young Mifune.

Well, that all depends on the point of view (teeeheee).

At the time they were making the OT, Lucas had a completely different view on the Jedi. They were not ALL meant to be athletic jumping jacks. In fact, he said at the time that Yoda en Palpatine were of the sort that didn't USE light sabres. Their power came from a different knowledge and use of the force. (You can read all about it in his interviews captured the in latest Making Of... books).
So there were soldier Jedi (with light sabres) and there were knowledge Jedi (using other powers) etc...

Now everyone can see Lucas completely changed his mind while making the PT. But Guinness certainly fit the vision of peaceful monklike Jedi... He didn't NEED to be athletic or physical, he was meant to be the wise old mentor. And he was exactly that.

Don't be fooled by the notion that Lucas had everything in his head, from OT to PT, since the early seventies. I know he claims that, but all documents (from Journal of the Whills to all transcripts of interviews and debates while making the OT) prove quite the opposite.

I for one think Lucas OT vision made a lot more sense. That's how the OT was made. The PT ruined all that. And why? Because Lucas changed his mind, and again and again. In the 70s and 80 he was an impressive film visionary but he was certainly no geofictionalist like Tolkien or Frank Herbert (Dune).

That all makes sense, but on the other hand Kenobi did fight with light saber in ANH. I can see him as a Mr. Miyagi type: wise older dude who also knows how to fight. Like I said, I was totally down with how he played it, but I think Mifune would have brought different skills to the table.

I agree and I prefer the more restrained style. I think that change in vision goes with changing times. GL started writing Star Wars around when Enter the Dragon was released, but he wasn't paying attention to the cutting edge of martial arts films, as he was more into Japanese cinema's Samurai movies which portray more realistic fighting styles. But when the PT was being made, Hong Kong inspired, over the top action was the norm.

Anytime I try to think about what I would change in the OT, I keep backtracking to the PT. Like I wouldn't want viewers to know Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker in EP4, but that's not EP4's fault, EP3 should've ended without showing the Vader armor or even Palpy announcing his new Darth name. You could even have had Padme die apparently pregnant in EP3, then in EP4 when the blond kid announces his name for the first time to C3PO, the viewer would be like "no way! Anakin's kid died!"

So there a few surprises in the OT that have been ruined for any new viewer who begins at episode 1, but there's nothing you can do in the OT to avoid this.

When Han Solo was going to slice open the tauntaun to keep Luke warm, I'd need to add a little blaster to the tauntaun's hand and have him shoot it so we know Han has a reason to slice up the creature.

Oh, and I'd make sure that Hayden is the force ghost at the end of Episode 6.